(CHICAGO) -- A billboard ad over a Chicago highway has sparked a free speech debate.

The sign advertises an assault rifle right next to the all-American images of baseball and apple pie, claiming all three are "Pure American."

The gun manufacturer that paid for the ad is unapologetic, but Father Michael Pfleger of Saint Sabina Church finds the sign embarrassing.

"We see consistent shootings going on in the city and across this country. That this is wholesome, the assault weapon? No," Pfleger said. "Is this really how our country wants to be seen, as our way of life?"

But Andre Queen, owner of a Chicago security training company, says he likes the sign.

"We need to be careful in terms of trying to link any particular object to any one group that uses it for a particular purpose," Queen said. "When I saw it, it gave me a kind of a rush of American pride."